Oregon Trail 5th Edition

Minnesota Educational Computing Consortium (MECC) (Proprietary)

Oregon Trail 5th Edition is the 2002 release of the Oregon Trail game first released in 1974 for use in schools. The game is used as an educational tool to teach United States history, particularly about the real-life struggles of the early pioneers who traveled on the Oregon Trail to establish the first communities that would become the American nation. In this game, players take on the role of the leader of a wagon party on the Oregon Trail. Along the way they will meet other people and go through challenges such as bad weather, sickness, and lack of food and water.

Players will have to make several decisions and accomplish various tasks to make sure that their wagon party will make it through the trail successfully. The tasks include crossing rivers, hunting for food, avoiding dysentery, and taking care of the sick. The game features puzzles and activities that build the players’ logical reasoning, reading comprehension, problem solving, and even budget management skills. The game shows the travel statistics, temperature, number of miles traveled, remaining cash, wagon weight, morale level, and actions such as trade, gather, turn, and hunt. In addition to knowing the history of the Oregon Trail, students will also learn how to read and use maps, follow directions, work with a team, and make smart, life-saving decisions.